In this episode of the Chuck ToddCast, Chuck examines the deadly ICE shooting in Minneapolis and the political, moral, and institutional failures surrounding it. As the administration rushes to rationalize the killing rather than investigate it—despite video evidence and eyewitness accounts that contradict its narrative—Chuck unpacks how DHS rhetoric, recruitment tactics, and targeted ICE deployments appear designed to provoke confrontation and fuel fear. The conversation moves beyond partisan lines to ask what accountability should look like when federal power is used this way, why affected communities are unlikely to trust the investigation, and how the tragedy is being exploited as propaganda. Ultimately, Chuck argues this moment reveals both the fragility and resilience of American democracy, the political danger facing Republicans, and why “whataboutism” has become one of the most corrosive forces in our national discourse.

Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!

Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction on ICE shooting in Minneapolis

01:00 Nobody in administration wants to investigate ICE shooting

02:15 J.D. Vance just idly speculated that ICE was in the right

04:15 DHS recruiting has a militaristic undertone

06:00 DHS has used propaganda to fuel rage in ICE recruits

07:15 Administration is rationalizing the death rather than lamenting it

08:30 There’s an intentionality to which cities are targeted by ICE

09:45 Administration is trying to create confrontation in order to crack down

10:30 This isn’t about left vs. right, it’s about right vs. wrong

11:30 Video contradicts Kristi Noem’s version of events, Tom Homan backtracks

12:15 Police forces don’t normally jump to conclusions

14:15 Campaign to demonize Somalis in Minneapolis led to ICE deployment

15:30 Deployments are meant to maximize, not minimize exposure for raids

16:30 Feds taking control of investigation, community won’t believe outcome

18:00 Administration is using woman’s death as a piece of propaganda

19:00 Trump is acting like his time is running out & he can do what he wants

20:15 No eyewitness accounts match story admin is telling

22:15 Republicans are in huge trouble politically

23:15 American democracy is both fragile and strong

25:00 Admin doesn’t have credibility to provide trustworthy investigation

27:30 ICE needs new leadership and a better code of conduct

29:15 Government is looking to exploit the difficulty in trying to find truth

30:30 Public is supportive of some of Trump’s goals, but appalled by tactics

32:30 Trump doesn’t tolerate any disagreement from within the GOP

35:00 The worst virus in American politics is “Whataboutism”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd is on vacation but the fresh content keeps coming! Chuck empties the 2025 mailbag and answers a variety of listeners’ questions regarding media, politics, history and sports.

If you’d like to ask Chuck a question, shoot us an email at AskChuck@thechucktoddcast.com

Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!

Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

Timeline:

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

01:45 As a network on public airwaves, shouldn’t CBS News be neutral?

09:00 How should public figures react to being the targets of satire?

15:00 Why is there a mass exodus of staff from the Heritage Foundation?

18:30 Thoughts on the infusion of prediction markets with political coverage?

23:15 How long does it take for a presidential term to become irrelevant?

30:30 What if Biden stuck with 1 term promise and reformed the presidency?

35:15 What if Russia never sold Alaska to the United States?

38:00 Was the country really united in grief over Garfield’s passing?

42:30 Thoughts on LeBron episode? Magic Johnson should be in GOAT debate

45:15 What one word would you use to describe the year ahead?

49:15 Why don’t we see monopoly concerns over the trading card market?

53:30 Any book recommendations to help understand Roy Cohn?

57:00 Miami’s connection to the cold war portrayed in “Covert City”?

58:30 How does it feel to be an independent journalist after years with NBC?

59:30 Are more people “seeing the light” as MAGA’s coalition cracks?

1:00:45 What are your takeaways from interviewing Andy Beshear?

1:06:00 How did you become a Packers fan after growing up in Miami?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd is on vacation but the fresh content keeps coming! Chuck empties the 2025 mailbag and answers a variety of listeners’ questions focused on politics & policy, the future of Trump & MAGA, and naturally… one on his beloved Green Bay Packers.

If you’d like to ask Chuck a question, shoot us an email at AskChuck@thechucktoddcast.com

Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!

Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

01:30 The need for real fiscal reform to try to tackle the national debt?

06:15 Anyone in MAGA that could reunite the two wings of the GOP?

13:30 Would the ACA receive the same blowback if Romney was president?

18:00 Sources to track the Talarico vs. Crockett race in Texas?

22:30 Will Republicans make trans rights a central issue in 2026?

26:30 Will flawed AI content moderation become a bigger issue?

32:15 How could the Trump administration try to rig the 2026 election?

36:30 Thoughts on proposed constitutional amendments?

44:00 Is it a zero-sum game between legacy & independent media?

52:30 Concerns with the Packers?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Chuck ToddCast, Chuck tackles one of the most consequential counterfactuals in modern history: what if 9/11 never happened? He explores how the attacks fundamentally altered the American psyche, shattered a post–Cold War sense of security, and transformed how Americans consume news, driving the demand for instant information and accelerating the technologies that now dominate our lives. The conversation examines how U.S. politics, foreign policy, and polarization might have evolved without the War on Terror—no Patriot Act, no Department of Homeland Security, no Iraq War—and whether the political forces that produced figures like Trump and Obama would have emerged at all. From global relationships with Russia and China to the delayed reckoning over economic inequality and partisan division, this episode traces the ripple effects of an event that reshaped everything, and asks what might have filled the vacuum if it had never occurred.

Finally, Chuck reacts to his Miami Hurricanes upsetting Ohio State in the college football playoff and makes his predictions for the upcoming games.

Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

03:00 “What if” 9/11 never happened?

03:45 9/11 changed how Americans consumed information

04:30 9/11 was the first true “hit” on the homeland

05:30 9/11 create a new sense of vulnerability in America

06:45 The trauma from 9/11 changed the American psyche

08:45 Prior to 9/11, America was living in a post cold-war calm

09:30 In 2000, the west was trying to court Russia into joining them

10:15 Both parties will bullish on integrating China into the world

11:45 Bush would have been more western hemisphere focused

12:45 Without 9/11, Washington would have been more polarized

13:45 The Bush presidency essentially began on 9/11

15:30 9/11 triggered a “need” for immediate information

16:30 Social media is created to provide immediate info

17:15 There’s no Patriot Act, Iraq war, War on Terror without 9/11

18:30 There would be no Department of Homeland Security

19:45 Homeland Security eventually became an immigration agency

21:45 The isolationist strain of MAGA may not materialize

23:15 Some of the responses to 9/11 led to rise of MAGA politics

25:00 9/11 created a new sense of urgency for following the news

26:15 9/11 sped up the adoption of new information technologies

28:15 Do we not have Trump or Obama without hyper-engaged politics?

29:00 John Kerry probably isn’t the nominee in 2004 without 9/11

30:30 What replaces 9/11 if it never happened?

30:45 Financial crisis still happens anyways

31:45 9/11 delayed the “uniparty reckoning”

32:45 Occupy Wall Street would supplant Tea Party as driving force in 2010

34:00 Without Iraq War, there’s less distinction between Clinton & Obama

35:30 9/11 delayed polarization, economic issues by a few years

37:30 “If 9/11 never happened” final conclusions

40:30 “What Ifs” left on the cutting room floor

49:15 Chuck’s college football playoff reaction

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jonathan Martin, the politics bureau chief and senior political columnist at POLITICO joins the Chuck ToddCast to walk through his bold predictions for the political landscape heading into 2026, starting with the idea that Donald Trump’s second term is less about governing and more about validation, legacy, and self-mythmaking. The conversation explores Trump as a pop-culture figure obsessed with monuments, family dynasty, and loyalty—rather than policy—along with why the country proved vulnerable to a political huckster in the first place. Martin breaks down why a Supreme Court vacancy could reshape the cycle, why GOP turnout may sag without Trump on the ballot, and which Senate races—from Nebraska to Florida to Ohio—could unexpectedly come into play.

The episode also looks ahead to the fault lines inside both parties: potential Trump family bids, early jockeying for the post-Trump GOP, and Democratic candidates who may help—or hurt—their own chances. Martin weighs in on foreign policy flashpoints that could define the next two years, from Iran to Venezuela to Trump’s transactional approach with China, as well as internal administration instability and cabinet shakeups. Plus, sharp takes on approval ratings, California’s unsettled political bench, why political dynasties still matter, and—because it wouldn’t be a Chuck Todd conversation without it—a few college football predictions to close things out.

Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Jonathan Martin joins the Chuck ToddCast

02:15 Of his 16 predictions for 2026, which ones stood out the most?

03:00 Trump’s second term is a victory lap, more about validation

04:00 Trump is obsessed with building monuments to himself

05:30 Trump doesn’t take the job seriously

07:30 Trump will likely slap his name on the memorial bridge

08:00 Trump is most like Teddy Roosevelt

09:15 Trump is more a pop culture archetype than a political one

10:00 The country turned out to be vulnerable to a huckster

10:30 Prediction of a Supreme Court seat coming open in 2026

11:30 Alito more likely to retire than Thomas

12:45 By October, it will be clear that senate is in play

14:00 Nebraska Dems cleared field for Dan Osborne

15:00 Trump not being on ballot could really suppress GOP turnout

16:30 Rumors that Don Jr. could run in Wyoming?

18:30 Folks in Jackson Hole with money always exploring political runs

19:15 Potential SCOTUS nominees if there’s a retirement?

20:45 The senate appointees from FL & OH get no traction

22:00 Paxton vs. Crockett would be a fascinating race in TX

22:45 Dems have a much better shot of winning in OH than TX

25:00 Biden could have cut deals with McConnell if government was split

26:15 Predictions on next country Trump hits with air strikes?

26:45 Regime in Iran could collapse in 2026

28:30 Netanyahu could be seen as most unstable force in middle east

29:30 Venezuela could become a huge political problem for Trump

31:30 In 1st term, leaks were about Trump, now they’re about cabinet

32:15 Kash Patel, Kristi Noem most likely to get booted from administration

34:30 GOP has political liabilities in Florida, senate race could be interesting

36:45 Could Jared Moskowitz be the wild card in the FL senate race?

37:30 Trump could be at 30% approval by Labor Day

38:15 Dem candidates that could hurt their chances by writing a book?

39:00 Without Covid, Buttigieg is likely the nominee in 2020

40:30 Newsom is easy to create a caricature of

41:30 Buttigieg is too smart to win in electoral politics

42:30 CA governor’s race field still doesn’t feel set

45:15 Swalwell can raise money, has backing from Pelosi

47:15 "Former mayor of SF” is a title that will sink you nationally

48:45 Ro Khanna avoids being associated with California

49:30 Which Republicans most likely to challenge Vance?

50:45 A Trump will be a candidate, Donald obsessed with family name in politics

52:00 Trump won’t just hand off his coalition to Vance

53:15 Trump wants to create a political dynasty

55:30 Trump will get cozy with China, then claim he averted WW3

56:30 College football predictions

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd is on vacation, but the news never sleeps! Chuck gives his initial thoughts to the Trump administration's military operation in Venezuela to capture President Nicolas Maduro, the motivations behind it, and why the success of the operation may emboldened Trump to take even riskier actions.

Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nuclear engineer & former Miss America, Grace Vanderhei joins Chuck Todd to break down the realities of nuclear energy—what’s safer than most people think, what genuinely needs fixing, and why public perception has lagged so far behind the science. From how she got into nuclear engineering to how disasters like Fukushima reshaped the industry’s momentum, Grace explains why rare accidents dominate the narrative, even as nuclear power remains one of the safest jobs in the country. The conversation explores America’s aging nuclear infrastructure, the challenges of upgrading decades-old plants, and why rising grid demand from AI is pushing utilities to restart and refurbish reactors instead of building new ones. Chuck and Grace also dig into the promise and limits of small modular reactors, the unresolved problem of nuclear waste storage, and how pop culture—from Homer Simpson to Hollywood—has warped the way we think about nuclear energy, all while pointing listeners to where they can follow Grace’s work and research.

Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quince. Don't wait! Go to https://Quince.com/CHUCK for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

Go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.

Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

00:45 Why the ToddCast decided to do the “New Voices” series

01:45 Grace Vanderhei is a former Miss America, now promoting nuclear energy

02:30 Nuclear energy is generally safe, but when it’s not safe it’s catastrophic

03:30 Environmentalists are split on nuclear power

04:45 Demand for power is way up, nuclear power will be needed to meet it

8:15 Grace Vanderhei joins the Chuck ToddCast

9:30 How Grace got into nuclear engineering

13:00 Advances in the tools engineers use

14:30 Fukushima disaster set back momentum in nuclear industry

15:45 Every nuclear facility stores emergency backup parts close by

17:15 Disasters are rare, but capture the public perception of nuclear

18:45 Nuclear tends to be more associated with weapons than energy

20:45 How big of a concern is America’s aging nuclear infrastructure?

23:15 Difficulties with updating decades old nuclear pants?

24:45 Grid demand from AI has led to restarting old nuclear plants

25:30 Refurbishing vs. building new nuclear plants

26:45 The nuclear plant decommissioning process

28:45 Three mile island wasn’t far into decommissioning before refurbishment

30:45 The development of small, modular nuclear reactors

32:15 Small modular reactors are on submarines, not used commercially yet

33:45 Safe, workable SMR’s are still a few years away

35:30 Other countries have surpassed US’s ability to build nuclear power

36:15 Which popular misconceptions are easiest to debunk?

37:30 There are only 6 safer jobs than working at a nuclear plant

38:45 Environmental community has always been divided over nuclear

40:15 Challenges of storing nuclear waste

41:15 There aren’t great current options for storing commercial nuclear waste

43:45 Is Homer Simpson good or bad for perception of nuclear energy?

45:15 Where you can find Grace’s work

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.